


The King And Queen Of Hearts, And The Princess And Alchemist Of Broken Trust

by Swiftwars21



Series: RTA Episode Rewrites by a person with too many ideas [3]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Neglect, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fredrick sucks, Hurt/Comfort, I swear, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, It's not as bad as it looks, Past Child Abuse, Sad Varian (Disney), Self-Hatred, Trust Issues, another one, episode rewrite, yep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28760901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swiftwars21/pseuds/Swiftwars21
Summary: "Why do you trust me?"She looked over at him, at first taken aback. It turned into the feeling of confusion as she processed the words, and she stopped what she was doing to answer him."Why wouldn't I?"This made him look confused, then, to her concern, a bit upset. His lips were inches away from curling into a scowl, as his eyes narrowed slightly. It left her feeling a bit uncomfortable, wondering if she should've come here in the first place. Varian pulled his knees up to his chest, hiding his face in his knees."Because I hurt you."OR: Rewrite of The King And Queen Of Hearts (sort of), where Varian has a lot more pent up feelings and guilt than the episode shows.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Queen Arianna of Corona/King Frederic of Corona (Disney), Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Series: RTA Episode Rewrites by a person with too many ideas [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084841
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54





	The King And Queen Of Hearts, And The Princess And Alchemist Of Broken Trust

**Author's Note:**

> Another rewrite, seriously?
> 
> Yep.
> 
> Why?
> 
> I have too many ideas and I need a distraction from the garbage that is my life.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Rapunzel asked nervously as Varian pulled one of the levers on his control panel. This sparked pink electricity from the poles connected to the machines the king and queen were strapped into, lighting up the room in rose-colored light. Varian turned around, looking both nervous and slightly confident. "If my new machine works the way I think it should---and it will---we are moments away from reversing the effects of the Saporian's memory wand."

As he said this, the machines all around the room squealed, ticked, and clicked, making Rapunzel more anxious. She had the right to be, because right then, a tube suddenly broke and sprayed the entire room in pink goo. Rapunzel tried to block it with her hair, only for it to be covered with the goo too. The machines whirred to a stop, bringing the room back into its natural light. She looked at her shoulder when Pascal chirped, chuckling when he turned the same shade of pink as the goo.

Her attention was then brought back to her parents when she heard her father question where he was, and why he was covered in goo. She turned to Varian, who looked guilty. 

"I'm sorry, Rapunzel. I-I was so sure this was gonna work! I feel like I've tried everything." 

Rapunzel gave him a sympathetic smile. "You did your best. And besides, I-" she stopped, noticing the way his body sagged, and his eyes were downcast. Her smile turned into a frown, and her confidence morphed into concern. 

"Hey, Varian, it's okay." she walked up to him, putting both hands on his shoulders. At this, he looked up to meet her eyes, and for a moment, Rapunzel's mind went back to when she'd first promised Varian everything would be okay. He'd looked the exact same way as he was now, and it made her stomach twist in guilt. But she shook it off, focusing on making him feel better _now._ "I trusted you to help, and you did. You may not have figured how to fix it, but I can at least thank you for that much." 

At that, Varian looked down again, biting his bottom lip. This made Rapunzel's frown deepen. "Varian?" 

Instead of answering, he pulled away, making her flinch in surprise. He turned away, rubbing his arm with his right hand. Ruddiger jumped down from his perch on one of the machines, crawling up onto the boy's shoulder. He pat his cheek, trying to give him some kind of comfort. But it didn't work, and the alchemist set the worried raccoon down on the ground, before exiting the room without a word. Rapunzel felt her concern growing, and she looked over to Pascal, who shrugged to show he was just as confused by his actions as she was. 

With a sigh, she turned to face her parents, taking note that after she sent them back to the castle, she needed to find Varian. 

(---------------)

Later that day, the princess found Varian sitting in an apple tree in the Old Corona orchard. She'd sent the carriage with her parents back home, deciding to worry about them tomorrow, which was the Day Of Hearts. She'd almost walked passed him, if it hadn't been for Ruddiger, who was sitting at the bottom of said tree, and chirped upon seeing her. She looked up to see Varian sitting against the trunk of the tree on a branch, tossing an apple up and down in his hand. 

"Varian?" 

He looked down upon hearing her, before focusing back on his apple. "I thought you were supposed to be at home, Princess." 

She winced slightly, the bitter tone in his voice reminding her of that night two years ago. But she didn't say anything about it, opting to swing her hair up and pull herself up to sit next to Varian on the branch. He stopped throwing the apple, staring at her with a wary look. "Probably shouldn't put too much weight on the branch or else it'll break." he warned, looking down at the ground below. It wasn't a very far drop, but still far enough to cause minor injuries, or even a sprained limb if you were to land wrong. 

Rapunzel didn't move, playing with her skirt and thinking of what to say instead. She sighed, scooting closer to the teenager, who watched her closely. 

"Look, I don't know why you left the way you did, and I don't want to assume---that never helped anyone." she chuckled, though it held little humor in it. "So I'm gonna ask. You don't have to answer, but I just want you to know that you can talk to me, okay?"

She waited patiently, watching the gears turn in the young boy's head. After a few minutes of silence, she was about to leave, thinking he wasn't going to answer. But as soon as she started looping her hair around the branch, he suddenly spoke up. 

"Why do you trust me?" 

She looked over at him, at first taken aback. It turned into the feeling of confusion as she processed the words, and she stopped what she was doing to answer him. 

"Why wouldn't I?" 

This made him look confused, then, to her concern, a bit upset. His lips were inches away from curling into a scowl, as his eyes narrowed slightly. It left her feeling a bit uncomfortable, wondering if she should've come here in the first place. Varian pulled his knees up to his chest, hiding his face in his knees. 

"Because I hurt you." 

His reply caught her off guard, and her eyes widened. She was about to say more, but Varian beat her to it. 

"Because I hurt you, I hurt your parents, I hurt your friends, and your damn kingdom! I stole from you, I lied to you; I did everything that should make you hate my guts right now, and yet you sit here, acting like you care. Acting like you _trust_ the guy that almost imprisoned your mother in unbreakable amber. I don't understand!"

The boy's grip on his sleeves grew tight, ruffling the white material. Rapunzel felt her eyes grow watery, and she could see Pascal looking just as saddened by this on her shoulder. She swallowed the lump growing in her throat, and scooted until her body was just a centimetre away from his. She gently put a hand on Varian's shoulder, which she could hear made his breath caught. 

"Varian, I'm not acting like I care, or that I trust you. I _do_ care about you, and I _do_ trust you. Everything you did is in the past, and as hard as it was for me to realize it, I forgive you. I forgive you for everything you did, and I apologize for everything I did to make you do those things. I just want you to be able to forgive yourself, too."

He looked up slightly, and Rapunzel felt her heart sting at the tears trailing down his pale, freckled face. His sky blue eyes that once held curiosity, joy and excitement, now held a kind of emotion Rapunzel had never seen before. And she hated it.

"You shouldn't trust me." he muttered. 

"But I do." 

"You shouldn't!" he suddenly shouted, making Rapunzel flinch back, eyes widened. Varian's eyes widened too once he registered why she looked so horrified, and he once again shrank into himself, shaking badly. "I'm sorry." he whimpered into his knees. "I-I'm so sorry." 

Rapunzel couldn't help but finally release the held back tears, feeling them slip down her face. How could he be so broken? 

"I...Varian, why can't I trust you?" 

He looked up again, brushing away some of the tears on his face. "If I told you...y-you'd hate me." 

Rapunzel found this reply puzzling. "What do you mean?" 

The teen sighed, uncurling from his ball. His shaking lessened now, though tears still formed in his eyes. He shifted so that he sat next to Rapunzel with his legs hanging over the branch, arms crossed and resting on his knees. He avoided her gaze. 

"Princess...earlier today, a-at my lab during the tests..." he sighed again, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Before you and your parents came, I-I tampered with my machine. I didn't know if it actually would work or not, but...I...I didn't...I didn't want to take the chance that it would, so I made it so it would spray the goo everywhere." 

Rapunzel froze. "What? Why would you-"

"Because I don't want them getting their memories of me back!"

**_Thump_ _Thump_**

It went horribly quiet; nothing but the sound of Rapunzel's own heartbeat drumming in her chest, echoing in her head like a shout in a cavern. But Varian's shout hadn't been in any cavern.

_**Thump Thump** _

One look at Varian's face said it all. He looked completely regretful, completely horrified at himself. Her heart beat faster.

_**Thump Thump** _

V-Varian...I-I didn't..."

She couldn't finish before Varian suddenly jumped from the branch, landing somehow perfectly on the ground. 

_**Thump Thump** _

As he started running, Rapunzel swung down from the branch, landing right in the spotlight of the sun. 

She watched Varian disappear in the distance, trying to call for him to come back. 

But it was too late. He was gone; leaving her speechless in the middle of the apple orchard.


End file.
